Improvement in machines for threading metallic nuts



f h L. w. sTocKwELL. 3S Se Sm {Mach-inns for ThreadingMetallic Nuts. 150,726,` 7 PatentedMayl2,1374.

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38h t--Sh "2. L. w. sTocKweLL. Re e Machines for Threadin'g Metallic Nuts.

Patented May 12, 1874.

UNITED STATES A'rnlv'r OFFICEc 'A LEVI XV. STOOKWELL, OF RAVENNA, OHIO.

4lMPROVEII'I'EN'',IN MACHINES FOR THREADING METALLIC NUTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 150,726, dated May 1:2, 1874; application filed November 2e, 1ero. y

To alt/whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, LEVI W. STocKwELL, of Ravenna, in the county of Portage and State of V Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Machine for Cutting theThreads of Metallic Nuts; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, such as will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and igures of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

The principle ofthis machine and its main features of novelty are, rst', that the nuts may be poured promiscuously into a hopper, from which they pass onto a shoe whosesides have a peculiar motion, different from the motion of the bottom of the shoe, which carries the nuts onto the upper en d of the tap, over which they pass, and drop from the other end of it; second, the tap is so constructed that at different places upon it its circumference is not a circle, but is made so that the tap may be held at these places alternately and the nuts pass over each of these places while the tap is being held and turned at another, and thus the thread of nuts is being constantly cut; third, the tap is held at each ot' these places by two half-clutches opposite to each other, so that their ends will clutch and hold the tap between them, fourth, each set of half-clutches is between two wheels placed against each other on a hollow shaft inclosin g the tap, on which shaft one is fast and the other loose, and having a differential motion, so that a cam in one wheel moves the halt'- clutches through a groove in the other, causing them to open and close against the tap, while constantly revolving uniformly with the tap; fth, below the clutches, and on opposite sides ofthe tap where the nuts are cut, are two adjustable endless chains, which hold the nuts from turning, having projections upon them, again st which the nuts press while being cut, thereby moving the chains and pressing the following-nut on the thread of the tap exactly as fast as the thread is being cut, sixth, the dropping of `,the nuts from the top of the tap is regulated by guards loperated by means of a cam-slide, springs, and lever, by the projections 011 the endless chains, causing a nut to drop on the tap as often as one is out; seventh, the straining of the oil from the cuttings and forcing it up on the tap by means of the force-pu1np.

Plate I, Figure l, represents a front elevation of the machine. Plate II, Fig. 2, is a sectional view of a part of Plate I. Plate III,

`Fig. S, is a vertical transverse section of a part of Plate I.

Like letters of reference` apply to the same thing in different views.

The hopper a is made of sheet-iron or other suitable material, and is suspended above the shoe b. There is an opening in the bottom of hopper a largeenough to permit the nuts to pass through. The shoe b is just beneath this opening, so that the nuts in the hopper can always fall upon the shoe near its upperend. The lower end of the shoe is supported by the frame of the machine at the pin h, Fig. 1,which passes through the shoe into the frame. The upper end of the shoe is supported by the cross-bar t', in the center of which is a pin that projects into a slot in the bottom'of and lengthwise of the shoe, at equal distances from each side. The cross-bar t' is fastened rmly to the upper end of the screw e, which passes through a slot in lever e. The cross-bar i beneath the shoe extends across it so that both ends project beyond the sides of the shoe, and it is held at right angles to the lever c by two nuts on the screw c, one above and the other underv the lever e. These nuts are also used to adjust the slope ofthe shoe by raising or lowering the screw o. The bottom of the shoe is represented as broken off in Fig. 6. The sides jj, Fig. 6, are used to keep the nuts between thernvaud aid in moving the nuts down the shoe'to the tap. They may be made of wood or metal, and should be sufficiently high to keep the nuts between them. They rest on the shoe, extending from the top of the shoe nearly to the lower end, converging toward the lower end of the shoe till they are of the width of a nut apart. There is a slot near' each end of the cross-bar '11, through which a pin passes into a hole in the side j. This pin has a shoulder, which rests on the cross-bar l and beneath the cross-bar i. The pin is threaded so that it can be fastened in the slot by a nut. The sides jj are adjusted toward or from each other'by moving these pins in the slots of the cross-bar i. -'1 he sides j j `are held in place at their lower ends by the slidesk k, but so as to permit the sides to slide up and down on the shoe. Each slide 7c 7c has a slotted iiange, through which it is fastened by a screw to the shoe. By means of this slot and screw each slide 7c k, and also the sides j j, are adjustable to the size of the nut to be threaded. Near the lower end of the shoe there is a hole through it directly over the tap m, for the nuts to pass through and onto the end of the tap, whichis on a Alevel'with the bottom of the shoe. The slides k 7c extend through this hole on two opposite sides of the tap, to guide the nuts onto the tap, and to keep the nuts from turning-with the tap. The stop at the pin h vis used to stop the nuts and guide them onto thetap. :It has a slotted flange, through which it is fastened to the shoe vby' a'screw` pivotf, which turns in the frame of the inachine, 'andisplaced at equal distances from each sidev ofthe shoe. The outer end of lever 'c passes through a perpendicular slot in the upper end of lever d. The lower end of lever d is open,"having two parallel arms, between which there is an eccentric, the space between A the arms being equal to the diameter of the eccentric. The eccentric is on the main shaft, on the inside of the drivinglpulley. The lever d has a fulcruni-pin passing through it into the'frame of the machine.

The mode of operatingthe shoeis as'follows: The eccentric l revolves with the in ain shaft by meansofa belt on the driving-pulley, and gives a vibrating -m'otionzto each end of lever d. Theextent of this motionl given to the upper end of lever d is regulated by raising or lowering the fulcrum-pin in lever d. The upper'end ofA lever -clgives4 a vibrating motion to the outer end of lever c, which givesv avibrating motion to the upper end'of-'the shoe by means of the center pin in cross-bari projecting into the bottom of the shoe, and also, by means of the pins near the endsof cross-bar t', gives a' peculiar motion'to the ysides j j. |The lower end of the shoe turns on the pin h. -The motionl given by the lever d to the diierent parts of 'the shoe is shown; by the dottedlines in Fig. 6. The difference in the motion ofthe sides and of the bottom of the shoe is caused by the difference in the relative distances of the cross-bar z' from the pin f and from' the pin h, and may be changed by4 mov-- ingthe screw c' in the slot of lever e nearer to or farther' from the pin f. The motion of the shoe causes the nuts in the hopper which rest1 against theshoe to slide down the shoe, under the cross-piece l, to thehole in'theshoe over the tap, 4wherethe sides j j are near to eachv -u a across them. "and 5,y has a shoulder around-ity on4 the lower side, andthere isa Vgroove -asdeep as `the other, so as to'perm-it but a single lnut to pas ata time. l

The tap fm, Fig. 2, is constructed with two indentations on it, one between the halt'- clutches n n, and the other between the halfclutches o o, where its circumference is not a circle, so that, while cutting the thread of nuts, it may be held or clamped there, and turned by each set of half-clutches alternately, the inner ends of the half-clutches being made to -t the tap at the place where they hold it. The tap m 'above its thread is inthe center of a hollow shaft, which turns in boxes at each end in the frame of the machine. The wheels 19 and s are keyed on the hollow shaft. The wheels g and r are loose on the hollow shaft, and are keyed to each other by the two keys The wheel j), Figs. l, 3,

shoulder across the wheel at its: center. In this groove two half-clutches are placed, as shown in Fig. 3. Each half-clutch is madeof -a straight piece of iron orsteel, shouldered on one side near the center, Fig. 2,- thethickness of the outer part of the half-clutch being equal to the depth of the groove in the groove-wheel, and thinner than the inner part by the depth of the shoulder of the half-clutch, against which the cam-wheel v presses. The wheel q has two cams, b', in the upper side, and opposite each other, as shown-in Fig. 4,'and is held Vup against the wheel j) by the keys u u, so that the shoulders of the half-clutches an, Fig. 2, may come in contactlwith the cams and the inside -shoulders of the -wheel q. VThere are holes in the hollow shaft for the half-clutches to pass through. -The -outer ends of the halt'- clutches, Fig. 3, project beyond the shoulder of the wheel, and are connected'by a spring, a', passing half-'way around the shoulder of the wheel,to press thehalfclutches outward against the cams. The half-clutches j@ n, Fig. 2, are represented as pressed awayv from the tap by their connecting-springs, and with their shoulders held against the cams. The half-clutches between the lwheels r and s, Fig. 2, are represented as holding the tap, and their shoulders cL are pressedfagainst the inside -shoulders in wheel r betweenthe cams, -eachy of which inside shoulders is in form an arc'of a'cirele, whose center is the center of wheel fr, and each shoulder being slightly more than onefourth the circumference of the circle, Fig. 4. The cams and shoulders in wheel o' are the same'as in wheel q, but the two cam-wheels are keyed to eachv other in such a position that a line drawn -across one wheel'will be at right i anglesl to a line in the same relative position clutchesand their-springs 'are l`the samel in bothr wheels.

`The wheels rand-q are turned bythe wheel o on the main shaft. The Igroove-wheelsV s and p, which are keyed fast to the hollow shaft, are turned bythe wheel t on the main shaft. The ratio between the number of teeth in wheel t and the number of teeth in wheel s differs from the .ratio between` the number of teethin wheel o and the number of teeth in wheel fr; consequently, when the power is applied tothe driving-pulley, and the main shaft g revolves with the wheels t and fv, the number of revolutions per minute made by the groovewheels s and p will differ from the number made by the camwhee1s r and q. By this difference of speed between the groove-wheels andthe cam-wheels, the half-clutches are operated bythe cams-the upper and lower sets of half-clutches being -opened by the springs and closed gradually against the tap by the cams alternately.l Every time one set of wheels gains a half-revolution on the other set, the half-clutches open and close against the tap, and permit a nut to pass down the tap to the place whereit is to be threaded. The cams are so made as not to permit either. set of half-clutches to open until the other set has closed against the tap. By drawing out the keys au, which slide in grooves across the top of wheel r and the bottom of wheel q, and letting Athe cam-wheels come together, and by loosening a set-screw, so that the collar through which it passes can slip on the shaft, and moving back the shaft g until the wheel u is away from wheel r, the cam-wheels and groove-wheels may be separated, so that the half-clutches may" be removed and changed for others to iit` different-sized taps, and so thatthe tap may be removed and sharpened and replaced. rlhe half-clutches are notched near their outer ends, to hold the ends of the springs which connect them, Fig. 3. The endless chains a' rv, Fig. 2, are made of narrow hinges, so as to be ilexible and permit them to turn on the rollers l at the ends of each chain. There are small projections, c1, on the `outside of each chain, as shown in Figs. l and 2. The shafts of the rollers turn inthe frame that supports the chain, Fig. l. Each chain is supportedbetween the rollers by the block or piece y, through `which the sides or frame that supports the -chain are firmly bolted. The sides are slotted near the top,-through which theyy are bolted to the frame of the machine for support, and so as to be adjustable toward or from each other.

The chains are operated as follows: When there is no nut on the thread of the tap, a nut will be pressed on the thread as follows: The nut passes between the endless chains, and is kept by them fromturning. The turning of the tap carries the nut down, which presses down on one of theprojections, c1, on eachl chain, and turns said chains. The projections of the chains will then press the following nut on thet-hread ofthe tap until the thread in the .nut is partially formed, when the turning of the tap will carry the nut down, as before, and keepthe chains turning. By reason of 'slot in the slide-holder.

near one end.

the nuts on the thread of the tap turning the chains to press the followingnuts .on the thread of the tap, each nut has a uniform motion with the slotted cross-brace, z, bolted to the frame or sides of the chains, and by means of the slots in the top of the sides, where they are bolted to the frame of the machine. The guards D D E E are used to hold up the nuts when they pass onto the tap fromthe shoe,

`and to drop them separately and at regular intervals. The-top of the slide holder or frame in which the slide C moves is repre-- sent-ed by the dotted lines: in Fig. 7. YThe end of the slide-holder is represented in Fig. l, and is in two parts on opposite sides of the tap, far enough apart to permit thenuts to,

drop between them. Each part at the bottom has a flange, through which itis bolted to thel frame of the machine. Two hinges, side by side, are fastened on the top of each flange by a screw in each passing through av slot in theV hinge into the flange. The other half of each hinge is pressed toward the outside of the upright part of thc slide-holder loya spiral spring, I I l I, Figs. l and 2. The guards Dv D E E are fastened against the outside of the upright parts of these hinges by a screw, so as to be adjustable to held different-sized nuts. Each guard extends above the hinge through a The slide C may be made ofsheet-iron or other suitable material; its shape is represented in Fig.7; and it has a hole through it for the tap` and nuts to pass through. In each side of the slide Gis cut two inclines, diverging outward. In Fig. 7 end sections of the guards D D E E are shown near the in.-

clines. Vhen the slide Gis moved to the left f the guards E E will be opened or pressed out-A ward by the right-hand incline. Now, if slide C be moved back to the right the guards will be pressed by the spiral springs near the in.

clines, as shown 5 if moved farther to the right the guards D D will be opened or pressed out lward to permit the nuts above the-urto fall, vwhile the guards E E remain closed to catchy and hold the nuts, as shown in Fig. l. Now, by movingithe slide to the left again the guards D D will be closed against or under. the nut next to the one resting on guards EY E, which willV then open and permitthe nut resting on them to drop on theY tap, while the guards D D hold the nuts above. nut is dropped by the guards each time that `slide C is moved to the right and back again to the left. The slide C is operated by lever A, Figs. 8 and 9, the upper end ofwhich passes through a hole through the slide C Thus one.

The fulcrum of lever A is atv H, where the lever passes through the roel;A shaft G, Figi), which turns at each end 1n supports fastened to the frame of the machine. A spiral spring attached to the rock-shaft presses the upper arm of lever A outward, and moves slide C to the left. The :lever A is adjusted up and down, and held by a .setscrew at H. F is attached tolever A, and has a slot through it near the outer end, through which it is bolted lfirmly to said lever at right angles. vThe other end of the part F is beveled to a point at the bottom, and projectsv between the endlesschains, so that when the nuts turn the chains the -ends of the projections on one `of the chains -will successively come in contact with the beveled end of F,and force it away from the chains, thereby moving the upper end of lever A inward. When the projection on the chain has passed from contact with F the pressure of the spiral spring on the rock-shaft Gr will carry the end of part F between the projections again, and carry the upper end of lever A outward. O11 one of the chains every alternate projection is shorter than the others, as shown in Fig. 8, so that lever A may be operated, if desired, less frequently. The lever A may be operated by either of the endless chains. The guard J, Figs. 1 and 8, is used to drop the nuts separately between the chains, and to turn each nut so that a side of the nut will be parallel with the face of the chains. It is hinged at the lower end, the hinge being rmly attached to the cross-brace z. Between lthe upperend ofthe guard and the hinge is a part of the guard similar to the part F of lever A, and attached adj ustably in the same manner as the part F, and also operated in the same mannerv by the projections on the chain. It is also adjustable up and down by means of a perpendicular slot in the guard. 'The guard is pressed toward the tap by a spiral spring in the same manner that the guards D D E E are pressed toward the tap. The upper pa-rt of the guard projects between the chains, and is adjustably attached to the upright part of the guard by a bolt or screw. The end of the upper part of the guard which turns and :drops the nuts is in shape and posit-ionlike the side of a pyramid, except that the face is narrow and rounded near the top, sothat when a projection on the chain forces the -guard away from the tap, a nut resting on the top of the guard will be turned in, passing the end of the guard till the side of the nut is parallel with the faces of the chains. The upper end of the guardshould be so adjusted as to be near enough-to the tap to catch and hold each nut that drops on the tap. The outer ends of guards L L, Fig. 2, pass through supports attached to the outer ends of the half-clutch es a a. The inner ends of guards LL are supported in and project through holes in the hollow shaft. There is aspiralspring around each guard, which presses it'in toward the tap a little farther than the inner ends of the half` clutches u a. rFhese guards are usedy to prevent falling nuts from being caught between the upper half-clutches when they are closing.

then the half-clutches'are closing, the guards come .incontact with the tap, and are pressed back against their spiral springs. The leader M, Fig. 1, is made of wires attached ina row near enoughto leach other :to .prevent a nut from passing between them. At 'the upper end it is attached to the yframe of .the chains near .the bottom, andononeside ofthe-chains. The rowof wiresiforming the leader is bent, as shown in Fig. 8, to catch the nuts as they fall from thetap, and Vlead them oft' to one side ofthe oil-vessel N, and tollead the oil and euttin gs into ythe pan'T. The pan Tis perforated with holes inthe bottom and sides, to permit the oil todrain Vthrough into vessel N, while the cuttings are retained. It rests- 011 wire or other supports across vessel N, at or near the top. Vessel N is intersected :by .sicves, through which the oil is strained, and afterward is pumped through a tube onto the thread ot' the tap, and vso used continuously and repeatedly to oil the tap and nuts while cutting the threads. The pump O, Fig. l, stands in the oil-vessel N. It is attached to the frame of the machineand is operated through thelever l, Fig. l0, which has a slot in one end, through which it is operated by a crank or pin in a wheel on the end of the shaft, driven by belt and pulley from the main shaftot' themachine. The endless chains must be long enough to run parallel with each other a greater distance than the threaded part of the tap, so that the projections can press the nuts onto the thread of the tap, and so that the nuts will be kept-from turning until they drop from the tap. The steppulley on the shaft g is connected by a belt with a pulley on a lower shaft.

The main parts of the machine are operated as follows: Power is applied to the belt on the drivin g-pulley at the end of shaftg. This turns the main shaft and a lower shaft, thereby operating the oil-pump O through the lever P, so that a stream of oil is poured on the thread of the tap through the tube of tlie pump, the upper end of which is near to and points directly toward the tap. The revolving of the eccentric on the inside ot' the dri vingpulley operates the lever d, the lever e, the shoe b, with the sides j j, causing the nuts to slide from the hopper down the 4shoe and over the end of the tap onto the guards D D E E. The wheel t turns thev hollow shaft and the groove-wheels which carry the clutches, and the wheel c turns the cam-wheels at a speed differing from the speed ofthe groove-wheels, thereby opening and closing'each set of half-clutches alternately, so as to permit nuts to fall beneath them, while they Y constantly hold and turn the tap. The turning of the tap causes the nuts thereon, which are kept from turning by the endless chains, to move down on the thread of the tap and turn the chains by pressing on the projections c2.

The projections on the chains press the following nuts onto the thread of the tap. By the -turning of the chains, each `projection on one C to. the right, thereby opening guards D1D,"v

guards E E to hold it With others above from` falling, and then opening the guards E E and permitting the nut on them to fall. The nut t fallsv from the half-clutches, when they open,

onto guard J, just above the chains. The turning of the chains forces back guard J from the tap, so that the guard permits the nut to drop on the chains, at the same time turning the nut, if necessary, so that Vits side will be Y parallel with the faces ofthe chains.

I do not claim as my invention the ordinary tap, shaped to beheld only in one place and at one end; but i 41. The combination of the shoe b, with its sides jj, the cross-bar i, andv lever c, substantially as and for the purpose hereinset forth.

2. VThe combination of thetap m, the shoe b, and hopper a, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

8. The half-clutches n u and o o, in con1bination with the tap in, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

4. The combination of the cam-Wheels q r, the groove-Wheels p s, the hollow shaft,.the tap m, and the half-clutches u n o o, with their connecting-springs, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

5. The combination ofl the cam-Wheel r, the groove-Wheel s, the Wheels o and t, and the half-clutches 0 o, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

6. The combination of the endless chains m and the tap m, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

7 The combination of the endless chains x x, the lever A, the slide C, and the guards D` D E E, substantially as and for the purpose herein set'forth. y

8. The combination of the guard J with the endless chains x x and the tap m, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

9. The combination of the guards L L with the halffclutches u fn, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth. 

